


The Secret Of The Crystal Key

by OmegaUltra



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27357172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmegaUltra/pseuds/OmegaUltra
Summary: For some, stories of buried treasure are just that, legends meant to inspire wonder, that there really is more to be found and secrets to discover. Yet, after a mistake ends with Jordan Pregnant, Lincoln and her set out to find out if one is true and to secure a better future for their family.
Relationships: Girl Jordan/Lincoln Loud
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N Ahh! Another year, another NaNoWriMo to write! Note, I had to edit this immensely because I absolutely hated the first draft. I know it's not in the spirit of NaNoWriMo to fix previous chapters, but since the website's been messing up, I decided to get to fixing this while I waited for FF.net's admins to fix the issue.
> 
> And it's still not fixed, so I'll be posting it here as well for the time being.
> 
> R&R!

"Pop Pop! Tell me the story again! Tell me the story!" A young boy leaned forward in his bed, his eyes glistening with the sparkle of excitement.

His Pop Pop smiled, pushing him down to lie back. "Ok Lincoln, ok, I'll tell ya," He turned and placed the seat in front of him, resting his arms on its support. He paused, collecting his thoughts, before smiling. "Lincoln, our family has a secret."

The young boy leaned forward, a grin overtaking his face.

"All families do of course, but ours involves a buried treasure!" His voice filled with excitement. "Years ago, when our ancestors first landed on the continent they found a magnificent place, buried deep within the earth." He motioned with his hands, seemingly trying to make himself appear bigger. "Yet, those around them became corrupted."

"Corrupted?" He tilted his head in curiosity.

"Yes, sadly," the old man sighed. "With great power, comes great evil. The more the treasure was shared, the more people began to desire it. It's immense blessings proved to be the curse that could have ended our family line," He leaned in and reached into his shirt. "Yet, our ancestor managed to hide away the treasure, burying its secrets forever… unless one of their descendents managed to find the clues."

"So do you know where it is?" Lincoln tilted his head the other way, before wrapping himself in his covers.

"Haha, no," He shook his head with a smile, before pulling out what appeared to be a small key decorated with crystal bow. "This key carries the secret of our family, and one day it will be yours to pass on."

*Yawn* "Pop Pop, do you think I'll find that treasure one day?"

He paused and leaned in, raising his finger as he did so. "Perhaps one day," He whispered. "But if you wish to start then you must remember, step one and two, and three and four, the secret lies at the creator's door."

"Do you know what that means?"

"No," he poked the child's nose, "But that shouldn't stop you from trying! After all, mysteries like this make life all the more interesting," He then pulled the covers over his grandson, giving him a small smile. "Goodnight Lincoln."

And with that, he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Chapter One: On The Run

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk* The thunderous roar of train wheels filled the air as the odd smells of the forest filled the occupants' noses.

For a moment, Lincoln stared ahead, his mind lost in thought. Though he seemed to stare out into the vast openness of the lake, he found it unremarkable, overtaken by the mess that were his thoughts.

"Hey Lincoln," His companion- a young woman with brunette hair grabbed his shoulder and shook, snapping him free of his trance. "You there?"

"Huh?" He turned to her in surprise.

"You zoned out," She let out a breath and took a seat next to him, allowing her legs to dangle off the edge of the train car. Her voice was soft, a stark contrast to the screech of the train.

"Oh, sorry," He looked away and pushed himself to his feet. "Lunch should be ready," Only for his eyes to fall upon the cups of ramen already set out for him. Two for Jordan and one for him. Figures.

Wordlessly, he picked them up. Thankfully one had already been picked clean. "Her pregnancy cravings are already coming in…"

He then took a seat next to her and offered one. "You feelin' ok?"

No response, figures.

"Hey," he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be all right."

"How the heck do you know that?!" Jordan spoke in an exasperated voice, staring daggers into the young man's eyes, before turning and clutching her head. "What the heck am I doing?! I shouldn't be here! We should be at home! Not on some train to who-knows-where?!"

Home, Lincoln winced at that word. "I can't believe it! You're so irresponsible! How could you have done this to yourselves?!" Before he grabbed one of the cups. "How about you eat then? It'll get your mind off of it."

Jordan leaned against the doorframe, soft tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks. "I'm not hungry."

That was a lie, and Lincoln knew it. "Jordan, you know you have to eat," He leaned over and curled some of the noodles around the fork. "You're eat for two after all."

"No, knowing your family, probably four," She went, her voice falling downcast. "How the heck did we end up here?!"

Lincoln shook his head and began to feed her. "Jordan, that doesn't matter now," He puffed his chest up. "What matters is that we're already on our way. I know it won't be much, but hey, we'll be fine."

She didn't answer, though did nom on the noodles.

After that, Lincoln put down the cup and let out a breath. "Man… this was such a terrible idea… but what the heck are we supposed to do anyways?" Before he turned and leaned back, taking in the scene before them. In the distance, he could see the sunset overlooking the skyline of Detroit. "Well, at least we don't need to go there…" he glanced to his side, taking in the sight of his part and her ever-growing belly. A twinge of regret crossed his mind, only for him to shake his head. "Hey Jordan, don't worry, once we find the first clue-"

"Lincoln, what'll we do if you're wrong? If there isn't some big treasure hidden by your Great, great, great grandpa?" Jordan glanced back, concern filling her eyes. "We don't have anything! I- I don't know how to be a mother!"

Yet, before she could continue, Lincoln wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, don't worry. I don't know how to be a father either."

"Yeah, that's very reassuring," she shook her head.

For a moment after that, the remained silent, with only the thudding sound of the train filling their ears.

Slowly, Lincoln reached in and pulled the key out of his shirt. "Well then… if I'm wrong about this, we ride the rails and see where they take us?" He gave her a begging look. "I mean, I know it's a longshot, but this couldn't be it, right?"

For a moment, Jordan hesitated, and nodded. "Well… I'm already on the run with ya… might as well take a shot," she shook her head and turned to look up. "Yeah… I wonder what our families are doing right now? They're probably worried sick or something."

"Probably, but it's not like they'd understand…" He shook his head. "I'm… I'm sorry I got us in this mess."

"I'm sorry I let you get us in this mess," She answered.

With that, he raised it up, towards the setting sun. "Heh, even if this thing is just a… trapezohedron, it looks pretty cool."

"A what?"

"I have no idea, that's just what Lisa called it," He chuckled, and looked into it, the sun's orange glint reflecting deeply through the air… only for the train to pull into a station.

"G'ahh!" Lincoln went, falling right onto Jordan's lap.

Instantly, the young woman's face went red. "Not again, Lincoln!"

Lincoln chuckled, before quickly grabbing his things and tossing the bag on his back. "Come on, this is our stop."

The young woman nodded and hopped to her feet. "You sure it's gonna be here? I mean, that weird clue you mentioned wasn't much to go off of."

He paused and shrugged. "Well… I know it's not much, but hey? What's the worst that can happen?" He stepped forward and glanced back. "If this doesn't turn out all right then… we can just hop on another train and continue to the nearest city or something. I hear Milwaukee is a good place to go, right?"

Jordan couldn't help, but give a small chuckle at that idea, before letting a breath and following along. "All right then."

After that, they quietly snuck off, making their way towards a church resting near the station.

"So, you sure this is the creator? Or whoever it is?" Jordan gulped. "If you're wrong, you're gonna be desecrating a random person's grave."

"I hope so. According to the stories my grandpa would say, someone by this guy's name made that crystal key thing, and this is his grave," He gulped, before pulling out a retractable shovel, also courtesy of Lisa. "She's gonna be so mad when she realizes I took her hypercube full of random stuff." Before sinking it deep into the ground and beginning to dig. "Only one way to find out!"

It took close to an hour for the young man to dig through the soft earth, the sounds of his struggle filling the mid-fall air. The chill of winter creeped up his neck as his pushed further and further down. "No turning back now."

*Thunk!* His shovel went, before he fell to his knees and clawed at the dirt. "Heh, hey Jordan!"

"What?" She peered over, her eyes falling upon what appeared to be a small chest, its old wood worn and withered from the years of abuse, yet, despite it all, it was still in tact. "Is… is that it?"

Lincoln smiled. "I hope so," before dusting it off and tugging, trying desperately to pull it free of its mooring, but to no avail. "A little help!"

Jordan instantly jumped into the hole and grabbed the other end. "Together?"

The young man nodded and forced himself back, breaking the box free and forcing it to land in front of the duo. "Haha!"

"Whoa," Jordan paused, her eyes glazing over the chest. Could they have found the treasure already?! She shook her head, likely not, but it couldn't hurt to hope, right?

Lincoln slowly approached and placed his hand on it. It was surprisingly warm to the touch, with a soft wood construction and metallic highlights. It was odd. "This… this looks brand new…" He gulped and wrapped his arms around its sides, before tugging up, trying to open it… only for it to stand firm.

"Lincoln…" Jordan came up on his side. "It's locked."

The young man glanced down, allowing a small keyway to come into view. For a moment, he hesitated. "It… it couldn't be, right?"

"What do you think? Call a locksmith?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

"No…" He reached into his shirt, taking hold of the key his grandfather had entrusted him all those years ago, before pulling it off. Carefully, he inserted it into the opening and turned.

With a *thunk* the mechanism unlocked, and with a push, the lid came off.

In an instant, a pillar of light cut through the air, illuminating the night sky for just a brief moment, before dying down, allowing Lincoln to look back. "What the heck?!" before he moved his arm away and began to crawl over. "This is crazy! I should be running, not approaching the darn thing!" before grabbing its side and pushing himself up

"The heck was that?!" Jordan flared her arms. "Are treasure chests supposed to do that?!"

The young man shook his head. "Nope," before peering deeper inside. For the most part, the box seemed to be filled with fabric, the old thing felt soft, silky to the touch. As if it had been buried only a few days before hand. A moment after that, Lincoln reached in and pulls, breaking a book free from the fabric's grasp. "Whoa."

It was a hardcover, with no ornamentation aside from a scratched-out name on its black cover. "Jordan?"

"Yeah?" She leaned in.

"I think we just found the first clue."

_**Meanwhile…** _

"Sir, there has been a massive energy spike around the monitoring site!" A worker turned back, his eyes falling upon an old man dressed in a black suit. He glanced down at his console, before turning and beginning to make his way out of the room. "Make preparations, the hunt has begun!"

23-5-12-12 20-8-5-14 9-20 12-15-15-11-19 12-9-11-5 1 14-5-23 1-4-22-5-14-20-21-18-5 8-1-19 2-5-7-21-14


	2. The First Clue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And I’m back with day 2! Happy election day everyone! It’s gonna be a fun one! I hope you guys enjoy this!
> 
> R&R!

Chapter 2: The First Clue

The cool autumn air blew through the cemetery, its breeze echoing through the air as the first sign of things to come.

*Yawn* Jordan pushed herself up and wiped her eyes. “Mornin’ Lincoln,” She glanced aside, only to find the young man laying next to her, his arms outstretched as he held the book above his face. “Lincoln?” she placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

“Huh,” He jumped in surprise… causing the book to fall on his face.

Jordan looked at him in concern. “Lincoln… how much sleep did you get last night?”

He shook his head and sat up, placing the book in his lap. “I didn’t, I was reading this thing…” He let out a breath. “But I just don’t get it.”

She tilted her head and leaned in. “What’s not to get? It’s just a normal book, right?”

He scratched the back of his head. “Sort of,” he began to flip through it. “It’s just a bunch of notes from the author’s travels.” He stopped on a page with a sketch of the Pyramids on it. “He’s been to Egypt,” He flipped to another page, showing a massive church. “France,” Before continuing. “And heck, I don’t even know where this thing is!” Before showing a rather unremarkable fountain.

For a moment, Jordan hesitated, a twinge of fear filling her voice. “Do you think… this was the treasure?”

Yet, Lincoln shook his head. “No, it can’t be,” he turned and looked into her eyes. “You saw that blast! Treasure chests aren’t supposed to blast the sky like that!” He then glanced at the hole they had made the night before. “And that’s not even mentioning the chest… it looked too pristine. It can’t have been a fake. That grave has been around for centuries!”

The young woman pulled herself to her feet and shrugged. “Well then, I guess…” She rubbed the back of her head and began to pack her things. “I’ll get to making breakfast… how about you finish going through that book?”

Yet, the young man closed the book and shoved it in his bag. “No, no, it’s time to go,” He sighed and climbed to his feet. “As much as I’d like to keep going through this, we need to get through this.” He looked into his partner’s eyes. “I promised you that we’d go to the next city if this wasn’t it, didn’t I?”

He then stretched and began to disassemble the tent. “I have to find a job before… ya know,” He glanced down. “I know eight months sounds like a lot of time, but trust me, when you come from a big family like mine, it’s not much.”

Jordan replied by pulling out a bottle of water and the solar cooker. “All right then I guess,” She stopped. “Hey, Lincoln, what do you think our families are doing right now?”

He shrugged. “Not sure…” His voice was shakey. “Maybe they’re wondering if we’re all right or something…” He chuckled a bit, before regaining a slightly more solemn expression. “But… we’ll be fine,” He tried to speak in a comforting tone. “You heard what they said… what our parents…”

“Yes, I remember,” She shook her head. “A part of me regrets even telling them about us…”

Lincoln placed a hand on her shoulder. “No, don’t be. I’m sorry I let myself get pushed into this… we weren’t-“

*Slam!*

“What was that?” The young man instantly rushed up, darting his head from side to side, searching for the source.

“It was probably nothing,” She looked up. “I mean, we’ve camped out here all night and no one’s bothered us, so who would now?” Before continuing to boil the water. “Come on… I thought this thing was way more efficient than this!”

Slowly, Lincoln creeped over to the gate that separated the cemetery from the church parking lot. Pushing aside some bushes, he was greeted by the sight of a black sedan surrounded by several black-suited figures. For a moment, they seemed to talk, before dispersing. With one walking straight towards him.

Lincoln pulled back. “Jordan, time to go!”

She looked up to him. “What are you talking about?” In an instant, he scooped up his bag and secured it on his back. “Grab the solar heater, we’ll need it, come on!”

Jordan scooped up her things as well as the pot of boiling water. “What’s going on?”

“Men in black, enough said,” He then grabbed her arm and pulled dragging her along for a moment as he made a break for the side entrance… only to run straight into one of the men.

“Well, hello there,” The man greeted them. He was middle-aged with black sunglasses and dark hair.

Jordan defensively put an arm in front of Jordan. “Can we help you, sir?”

“Why yes, we’re part of… an investigative team with the government,” He paused, thinking over his words. “We detected some abnormal reading in the area and were simply coming by to investigate. He looked down upon them, his stature imposing over the rather short duo. “Would you happen to know anything about this?”

 _“Think fast!”_ Lincoln gulped and shook his head. “Nope! We’ve just been around doing our things and stuff. Ya know, spending Halloween in a cemetery! Like normal kids! Boyfriend and girlfriend!”

He looked down in curiosity, before shrugging. “I suppose that makes-“

“Hey Alex! There’s a hole here! And a chest!”

Instantly, the man glanced down upon, before lundging forward.

“Jordan! Pan!” Lincoln shouted, ducking to the side as his companion tossed the near-boiling pot of water on the goon.

“Ahh!” He screamed in pain, while Lincoln and Jordan bolted towards the train station.

“Where are we going?!” Jordan did her best to keep up with the young man.

“I don’t know! But for now, we have to go anywhere but here! We can’t wait for another train!” He looked from side to side, his eyes brushing against the treeline. “That way!”

Jordan glanced back, thankfully noticing that the men were not chasing after them, though the man she burned was holding his face. “We’re good Lincoln!”

Yet, the young man refused to take the chance, he continued running, as deeply as he could into the forest, so far that the church and rail yard disappeared from view, leaving only him and his partner alone in the woods.

“Phew, close call,” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “You all right, Jordan?”

“Yeah, what was with those guys?” She turned back watching from whence they came in case the men had changed their minds and decided to pursue.

He shook his head. “Don’t know, but it probably had to do with what happened last night,” He took a knee and began to rummage through his bag.

“So any ideas on what to do next?” She tilted her head in curiosity.

In reply, Lincoln pulled out a phone. “Yeah, we make our way back to civilization and try to figure out what this book was about,” He stopped to think. “Jordan, you know all those movies where secret agents or government or whoever are trying to stop the treasure hunters?”

“Yeah,” She gulped at the idea. “The last thing we need is to start having bullets shot at us.”

Lincoln sighed. “I agree, but… if they’re after this stuff… I don’t know if its real or not, but it gives me some hope at least.”

“Do you think they think the treasure is real too?”

“I always have,” He stood up straight and began to walk. “If they’re after it, then I want to get it before they do. Are you with me?”

Jordan nodded and followed. “Always, Lincoln,” she placed a hand over her abdomen. “Always.”

With that, they continued onwards, deeper into the forest.

**_ Meanwhile… _ **

Slowly, the old man approached the church, his suit and cane glistening in the morning light. “So, what have you found?”

“Sir,” Alex stood up as well as he could, holding an ice pack to his burnt face. “Some two kids seem to have dug up a chest of sorts. It’s the source of that massive energy spike we detected last night.

For a moment, the man paused, his eyes glancing over his worker. “I see, they seem to have gotten you.”

“I wasn’t expecting them have a pot of boiling water standing by, won’t happen again, sir,” he shook his head.

“I expect it not to,” He stepped passed and entered the cemetery, glancing at the man dressed in biohazard suits scanning the area. “What have you found so far?”

Another officer walked over with the folded up blanket. “This was found inside the chest. We are not sure of its significance at the moment.”

 _“Those children must’ve taken what was inside before I could get here,”_ he rubbed his chin. “Very well, I want the lab boys to find the origin of this. And I need a team tracking the two children you were talking about. They may have something I’m looking for.”

“Yes sir!” The men went, before scrambling to their positions.

With that, he rested on his cane. _“The hunt has begun.”_

5-1-18-20-8 8-15-12-4-19 13-1-14-25 19-5-3-18-5-20-19 9-14-3-12-21-4-9-14-7 20-8-9-19 15-14-5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Chapter 2 is done! Only 28 more days to go! I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, R&R, DM me and feel free to join the Loud House discord!


	3. Chapter 3: The Next Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Man, election day is going crazy. Yes, I know this chapter was a bit late. But don't worry! I'm getting back on top of things and I think I know where I'm going next in this NaNoWriMo Fic! I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> R&R!

Chapter 3: The Next Step

“Hey, Lincoln, how much further to a road?” Jordan stopped and panted, placing her hands on her knees. “it feels like we’ve been walking for hours at this point.”

“That’s because we have,” The young man raised the phone to the sky. “Thanks Lisa, you’re a lifesaver with this thing,” before he turned around and pointed ahead. “According to this, there should be a road up ahead!”

“Bout dang time,” She stopped, before leaning over and puking.

Lincoln winced at the site, stepping over and patting his partner’s back. “There, there, you’ll be all right.”

She paused, panting for a moment, the sensation still lingering in her throat. “Pregnancy is suffering.”

A twinge of regret rushed through Lincoln’s chest. Why did he have to do this to her? It was his fault they were in this mess, no one else’s. And now, it was his job to fix it, by any means necessary.

“Let’s see if we can get a ride to the nearest city, ok?” He took a knee in front of her. “We’ll be able to get you some good food and medicine to deal with it there.

Jordan nodded in agreement, before forcing herself upright. In reply, Lincoln stood up and wrapped an arm around her back, while wrapping her right arm around him. “Come on, lean on me.”

“Are you sure, Link?” She looked at him in concern.

“Course,” He smiled. “After all, I don’t want you getting hurt after all, or yet, the baby.”

With that, they pushed forward, making their way towards the road.

From what they could see, it was deserted, with potholes and rusted barriers. Thankfully though, not much else aside from that. For a moment, Lincoln glanced from side to side, his heart sinking as the realization dawned on him.

“Dangit,” He whispered. “Looks like we’re walking, Jordan.”

The young woman’s expression fell downcast. The prospect of having to walk the how many miles to civilization already filling her with dread.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Her companion reached over and pushed her chin up. “We’re gonna make it, don’t you worry.” He inched forward, pushing her to lean on him more. “I’m gonna make sure of it.

Jordan glanced at him with begging eyes.

*Honk*

Instantly, the duo turned towards the source. It couldn’t be… a car, out here?!

“Hey there! You need a ride?” The driver, an old man with soft white hair greeted. He wore a light button up shirt and small glasses. 

Lincoln and Jordan turned to each other for a moment, before turning back to the man.

“Yes please,”

The man smiled, before putting the emergency break on and hopping out. “All right, then,” He then came to Jordan’s other side. “What’s going on with you two? You look a little worse for wear.”

Lincoln shook his head. “We’re fine, it’s just we got lost in the woods is all…” He gulped. “My uhh… friend here got sick and we need a ride back to town.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. “Oh really now? Well you’re in luck! There’s one nearby if that helps. You could probably get medicine for her there.”

Lincoln hesitated. On the one hand, he could probably get the medicine to make her feel better. But… what if those goons decided to suddenly follow them? They’d have to be on the road as soon as they could be! What could they do? He looked towards her companion, her face already having gone green again. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel any worse than she already was. Morning sickness was a pain.

And so, he nodded. “Thanks, please take us there.”

He smiled, before helping her into the car. Lincoln followed soon after and with that, they headed off. Heading down the forestry backroad.

For a moment, they drove along in silence, with the old man bringing them along. It was noontime at this point, with the sun’s rays thankfully covered by the car’s roof.

“So, why don’t you tell me why you two were out here all by your lonesome?” He spoke in a soft, fatherly voice. “You know, the woods aren’t a place for teens like yourself.”

Lincoln held Jordan, looking up slightly at the man. “Nothing really. It was just a trip gone wrong. We went camping for Halloween and stuff and well… ended up here.”

“Heh, young love,” He chuckled. “I remember when I was your age. I used to go out all the time with my girlfriend.” He glanced back. “We used to have lots of fun times in the woods.”

Lincoln froze, a part of him glad that he was assuming that rather than anything else.

“How old are you two anyways?”

Jordan gulped back, forcing her nausea down as well as she could. “Sixteen. We told our parents we’d be gone for the weekend and since things have been going well, they trusted us.”

“Heh, in that case, if I do see them, I won’t say a thing,” He gave a small laugh, before returning focus to the road ahead.

With that, the young man pulled back and let out a breath. From what he could tell, his partner would be fine for the time being, though it still made him worry.  _ “I’m sorry Jordan, but I’ll make sure that we can show our faces to our family again, you can count on it.”  _

“Say, would you like to hear some stories on the way? We’re a good hour out from the nearest town after all.”

“Sure,” Jordan spit out, leaning back and resting her head against the headrest, before closing her eyes.

“There are many stories about these woods,” He started. “About strange creatures, large, terrifying beasts.”

The young man raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh?”

“Oh yeah, heh,” He adjusted the rearview to get a better look at his charges. “It was strange. There’s an old church around here. If I recall correctly they built a train depot near it a few years back. It’s a shame the place got abandoned though.”

“Do you know why?”

“Not a clue sadly. It was like that before even I was born,” He paused, his mind filling with thought, before he continued. “A part of me wonders what’s causing the oddities. Heck, did you see last night? There was a huge pillar of light! For a second, I thought it was daytime!”

Lincoln looked to the resting Jordan. “I didn’t see anything…” He hesitated. “Do you know anyone else who would know more though? It sounds like something to look into.”

The old man glanced back in curiosity. “Perhaps,” He rubbed his chin. “Perhaps the town librarian would know more. If I remember right, he’s a huge history buff. He can tell you the history of this town and all the myths surrounding it easily probably.”

_ “Then it looks like I know where we’re going next,” _ Lincoln nodded. “Thanks…”

“Hey, kid, she asleep?” The old man continued.

The young man leaned in and listened, her soft breaths filling his ears. “Sounds like it.”

“Take care of her, ok?” He spoke with a soft, understanding voice. “I know that it’s still early on, but it’s gonna get harder before it gets any easier.”

He gulped in reply.

“Trust me, parenthood is both the worst and best thing ever, and when you get used to it, it’ll be something you look back on with happiness,” He smiled and gave him a small nod.

“Thanks,” Lincoln answer, before glancing down at his backpack.  _ “Maybe then I’ll be able to find out the secret of this book… why is it so important. I guess we weren’t hallucinating that pillar of light. And what do weird animals have to do with this all? I just hope that everything turns out for the best!” _   
  
With that, they continued onwards towards the town.

**_Meanwhile…_ **

“Anything yet?” Old man slammed his hands against the altar of the abandoned church. “We’ve been searching for hours, nothing on those kids nor what was in that chest?”

“I’m sorry sir,” One of the scientists popped his helmet off and shook his head. Besides the wrapping, there’s not much information we can get besides traces of an unknown element.”

“Dangit,” he rubbed his chin. “It seems we’ll have to find them, but where could they have gone? If anyone knows what that energy surge was, it would have to be them.” He then turned. “Alex, send a search team out for them. We must find out where they had gone!”

The operator nodded and turned, before exiting the church.

12-15-20-19 15-6 19-5-3-18-5-20-19 20-15 21-14-3-15-22-5-18, 2-21-20 23-8-1-20 4-15-5-19 20-8-5 2-15-15-11 8-9-4-5?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N I hope you guys enjoyed this! You know what to do at this point! Comment and feel free to message me or leave ideas!
> 
> Also:
> 
> Comment replies (C2):  
> Lance: They're both 16 in this fic


	4. An Old Man's Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this! 
> 
> As always R&R!

Chapter 4: An Old man’s Story

“Thanks for ride,” Lincoln leaned forward, before turning and pushing his way out the car. A moment after that, Jordan stepped out, stretched and let out a breath.

“No problem you two, stay safe,” He pointed at a building up the road from them. “if you wanna talk to the curator I told you about, he should be in that building right now,” He then paused, before looking at Lincoln. “I wish you two the best.”

“Thanks,” He gulped, before the man drove off, leaving them to go on, on their own.

With that, he turned to his partner. “So, how are you feeling?”

“The morning sickness is gone at least,” She shook her head. “I guess a little sleep was all I needed after all.”

“Well, puking helps too I guess,” He chuckled, before wrapping his arm around her once more. “Come on, we’ve got a museum to check out. If that old man was right, we might be able to find out something about the book!”

Jordan seemed to hesitate, her mouth opening, only for to close it and shake her head.

Lincoln raised an eyebrow. “Uhh… something come up, Jordan?”

“No, no,” She gave him a soft, seemingly forced smile. “Let’s go get some info.”

With that, they began to make their way through the town.

From what they saw, it wasn’t much- if anything it resembled a village more than town, with a few stores connected on a main road and not much else. They had basically been dropped off on a street corner outside a pharmacy.

“Think you need meds still?” Lincoln asked.

“Not really, I think I’ll be fine for now…” She took a breath and leaned against her partner. “If something comes up, then sure. But let’s just figure out where the treasure is, all right?”

For a moment, Lincoln looked into her eyes with concern. She was hiding something and he could feel it! But… what was he supposed to do next? They needed to keep moving. Even if there wasn’t much they could do at the moment, this would all pay off. _“Remember, this treasure could make us rich enough to raise twenty kids. We just have to hold on long enough to get it!”_ And so, he simply nodded along. “All right, after this, we’ll catch a train or bus or something to keep moving. We still have enough money, right?”

Jordan put on an unsure expression in reply.

“We can at least afford bus tickets, right?” His voice filled with concern.

“Heh,” Jordan chuckled at the question. “Well, that I can say yes to. Those aren’t too expensive, but we’re gonna need to restock on Ramen and water eventually.”

“Well then, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” He let out a breath and pushed slightly, bringing her over to the museum.

It wasn’t much, just what appeared to be a small house decorated with a sign declaring. “Ottawa museum of secrets.”

He gulped and knocked on the door.

A moment passed after that, before a man stepped forward and opened the inside door. “Oh! Hello there!”

“Hi, may we come in? Are you the curator?” Jordan looked up at the man. He looked about middle-age, right greying hair and black glasses.

His face instantly lit up. “Yes! Of course! I love visitors!” He pushed forward, holding the door open as Lincoln let go of Jordan and stepped inside.

Unlike the simple exterior, the interior was cramped, with trinkets and oddities of all kinds lining the walls. “Got a table around here?”

“Of course!” The curator went, before stepping over to a podium, on which stood what appeared to be a small vase. “But, can I first interest you in this? A pot made by the freemasons themselves!” He turned it, showing off what appeared to be a compass and ruler insignia. “Stories tell that places like these were used as secret meeting grounds so that they could plan the revolution.

For a moment, Lincoln paused. Now, he wasn’t a history buff, but he knew for sure that Michigan was _not_ one of the revolutionary states. “Err, Mr. Curator… we just came by to ask a few questions.”

Jordan rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “Yeah… sorry…”

“Oh…” the curator’s face fell downcast, before instantly perking up. “All right then, there’s a table in the next room, let me get us some drinks and we’ll discuss, what would you like, Tea? Soda? Coffee?”

“I’ll take soda,” Lincoln went, with Jordan answering. “I’ll take tea.”

With that, the curator headed to the next room.

**_ A Few Minutes Later… _ **

“So, what’s goin’ on?” He sat down and leaned back, resting his back against his chair.

Jordan and Lincoln turned to eah other, before turning back to the man.

“Well, we were just wondering about that abandoned church and town in the woods is all, and well, we were told that you would know about it,” Lincoln motioned with his hand. “There was this weird light thing that lit up everything last night and we were trying to figure out what caused it.”

“Heh, heh,” He leaned forward and chuckled. “Man, this always happens.”

“What are you talkin’ about?” Jordan tilted her head in confusion.”

“Oh nothing,” He waved them off. “It’s just that, every time something weird happens in these parts, there’s always someone who comes by looking for answers or mysteries or something,” He placed his cup of coffee on the table and stood up, turning towards the map of the county. “The old ghost town doesn’t really have a name, and most of the records pertaining to what it was were… well, lost,” he shook his head. “But, after years of studying the area, I suppose I could piece together a story of sorts.” He then turned and grabbed his coffee. “It seems to have been a mining town of sorts, before all the residents left. Why they did though, I just don’t know…” He hesitated.

“Do you think it could have something to do with all the weird things that’ve been going on in the woods?” Jordan took a sip of her tea and spoke in a soft, curious voice.

He shrugged. “Maybe. Some legends say that there’s something hidden in the town, but I’ve gone there many times over the years and well… I just haven’t seen anything of interest. There just isn’t much to find in an abandoned town I guess.”

For a moment, Lincoln rubbed his chin. _“That can’t just be it. Why would there be treasure there then? What’s the journal have to do with this? There has to be more to this!”_

“Though,” The curator rubbed his chin. “I also do know that an apparently famous man ran the town. If you want to search anywhere, then maybe his home would be the best place to check.” He chuckled. “Heck, if I’m telling you two everything, I might add that some say that pirates would come here from the great lakes. That place could’ve very well been one of their safe harbors, though this is pretty unlikely given how remote this place is to the sea.” He then turned and glanced at some of the strange animals resting on the walls. “I also wouldn’t put it passed anyone to be suspicious of the oddities that pop in this place. I just wish that I’d be able to one day learn about them, maybe to finally understand what makes this place so special.”

Lincoln stood up with that and nodded. “Got it, thanks sir.”

“Anytime,” He smiled. “It’s nice to have visitors come by and listen to the rambling of an old man.”

Jordan nodded. “And thanks for the tea, really helps!”

“Anytime.”

With that, the duo headed out of the home.

“So where to next?” Jordan asked.

“That abandoned town. We have to find the next clue, and hopefully find that treasure!” Lincoln slammed his hands together.

Jordan took a breath and nodded. And with that, they headed off.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Man, NaNoWriMo is already pushing me, but I'm not giving up! I hope you guys enjoyed! See ya tomorrow!


	5. Searching The Ghost Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Hi guys! I'm back! I did something different with this chapter, I was having so much trouble writing that I decided to try and use dictation to work on this more. I hope you guys enjoy this!

Chapter 5: Searching The Ghost Town

It took them a few hours to make the arduous trek from the small town back to the church and rail station. On the other side was the ghost town, left as barren as it was the day it was abandoned.

"Think we're in the clear?" Jordan tilted her head in curiosity, while Lincoln pushed himself up, glancing at the town's entrance, before looking from side to side.

"I don't see anyone," He whispered, his voice calm, yet cautious. "Do you think those agents are still around?"

Jordan shrugged, brushing aside the bush below him. "I doubt it, government agents aren't paid enough to care for that long. If anything they probably just packed up for the night when they realized they had enough hours to be paid or something."

" _That's good to hear,"_ Lincoln let out a breath and nodded, before inching forward, checking one last time and entering the town with Jordan following close behind.

In the sunset light, the town seemed unremarkable. It was made up of a single dusty road with dilapidated buildings of all kinds lining it. At the opposing end was what seemed to be a mayor's office and small square.

Jordan's eyes jumped from building to building, glossing over the abandoned woodwork and destroyed ornaments. "What do you think happened here?"

"Not really sure," He clutched his bag, doing his best not to get distracted by the town around them. "And well, I guess we'll find out if it's important," he then shook his head, and continued walking forward.

"What if one of these houses is the one we're looking for?" She turned and stepped over to one of the porches, taking in the decrepit sight of chairs and torn tables, left no doubt after a gathering of sorts. She looked passed the broken front door, only to take in the image of an old wooden toy buried in the rubble. "Wow…"

"I doubt that," Lincoln stepped over and rubbed his chin. "If he were an important person, there'd be something showing it off, maybe a plaque or something." He shook his head.

For a moment, Jordan glanced around. "What about a statue?"

Lincoln shrugged. "Yeah, sure, that'd work."

"Because that big one at the end looks like it could be what we're looking for is all," She shrugged.

"Heh, I was thinking that too, come on," Lincoln then pushed off and made his way over, with Jordan following.

There wasn't much else going on in the town to take note of. Passed the fountain was the mayor's office, but to the side of it was what looked to be a small home with. A little statue of someone stood at its door, though that was all that was different about it… well, aside from the fact that it didn't seem like much had happened to the house despite its age.

Lincoln took a knee, only to declare. "Name's worn out… not sure if it'll be much help."

Jordan shook her head. "It wouldn't hurt to at least check the place out, right?"

Slowly, Lincoln stood up and nodded, before climbing up the steps and entering. "Sure, I guess it can't hurt too much."

The interior left much to be desired, with flipped and destroyed furniture. Shards of glass covering the floor from the broken windows. Lincoln stepped passed, filling the air with the soft crunches of debris. "I'll check down here, why don't you check upstairs?"

Jordan nodded and complied, carefully climbing up. With that, the young man calmly moved from room to room, glancing inside some for the most part, though not finding much of interest, forcing him to shake his head in disappointment. "Hey Jordan, you find anything?"

"I think so! there's something up here! I need your help opening it!"

Quickly Lincoln turned and rushed up the stairs, taking a moment to examine his surroundings. Similarly to the bottom floor, the upstairs was not in the best of shape- with some doors torn and rooms clearly having been destroyed as well looking around the upstairs was just like the bottom not in the best of conditions with significantly less damaged from what I could tell there were four rooms mostly bedrooms but Jordan stood in front of one with a locked door.

"Mind helpin' me out?" she struggled against the door pulling on its knob though it wouldn't budge for some reason. "I don't know how they made this but for some reason I can't open it!"

Lincoln could help but chuckle. "That's because you're pulling on a push door."

Jordan paused her face going red in embarrassment. "Oh"

The young man stepped over and motioned for his partner to step aside. "Let me handle this," He then turned wound up and kicked, forcing the door from its hinges. For a split second he thought that a skeleton would jump out at them, though thankfully nothing showed. Instead The duo was greeted by what appeared to be a simple study, untouched by the hands of time.

"Think we'll find something new?" Jordan peered out from behind her partner.

"Not sure but hey, locked doors mean there's something right?" The young man stepped forward, glancing around the room, before approaching a small desk littered with papers.

"Yeah true," Jordan shrugged and began to search. Her hands brushed across the old desk before she turned, glancing over the old bed sheets covered in dust. Lincoln focused on the desk alone, running his hands to wipe the layers of dirt off, before beginning to go through the papers. _"Why would they lock the door to this if they weren't coming back? This is a ghost town and it looks like everyone left in hurry… but they made sure to lock this door. Why? These papers don't seem like much."_

Jordan meanwhile began to rummage through the closet. _"No clothes? That doesn't make sense. if they left in a hurry they leave something behind, but it looks like someone came back here…"_

Suddenly the realization dawned on the young man. "What if someone didn't leave? What if they stayed for something?"

"You don't think there's a clue hidden here, do you?" Jordan turned around, taking in his curious expression.

Lincoln nodded and began to run his hands over the table and on its underside. "Jordan I need you to search for something a hidden compartment or something, anything! Maybe the reason why this house is still standing is because the owner didn't leave. He stayed and worked on this house before he died!"

"All right," She turned back and instantly grabbed the blankets, wasting no time tossing them aside. She then stripped the bed before flipping the mattress. "Well I can say that there's definitely nothing under the bed!"

Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose in reply. "Jordan we're not in a prison, I doubt anyone would hide-"

"Hey look! Old money!" Jordan chuckled and shoved some coins in her pocket. I'm saving this! Maybe we can trade it for some cash, I hear pawn shops collect."

"Yeah, but that's not what we're looking for right now. Anything else?"

"Let me see…" She glanced at the closet one more, moving her hand to rub her chin. _"I wonder…"_ She approached and opened it up again, wasting no time knocking on the wood. Soft tunks filled the air for a moment, as her eyes went wide in realization. "Lincoln!" I think there's something in here. She then pushed a portion of small section of the closet, giving way to a small switch.

Lincoln came to her side and stared at it. "What's it to?"

Jordan shrugged. "Only one way to find out!" before she slammed he hand on it.

A moment passed, before a giant *thunk* filled the air. "What the heck was that?!"

They instantly turned and rushed out of the building, only to find that the fountain, for just a moment splashed out a burst of water, before its floor caved in, revealing a spiral staircase leading into the depths of the earth.

"Think we should go down there?" Jordan asked.

Lincoln gulped. "No, but we have no choice," Before he stepped forward.

Slowly the duo protest pulling out their phones for light it turned each other one last time and began to make their way down rat rod panel crossing the old pipes had no business even being there the old mechanism work perfectly from the looks of it and eventually they found themselves walking into a small room with maps and statues and Equipment of all types strong about it messily covering a floor despite what appeared to be here's of neglect they still stood where they stood covered in dust "Wow, what is this place?"

"It Looks like a study of sorts, an actual study, not what we saw in that house," Lincoln stepped over to the main desk and began going through the papers resting upon it. From what he could tell, they were maps outlining the world as they knew it back then.

Jordan turned and began to search the rest of the study, her eyes instantly falling upon what appeared to be a glass orb resting on top of a small bronze pedestal. _"Huh… cool…"_ She slowly approached and reached over. _"I wonder what this is…"_

"Careful, Jordan!" Lincoln lunged over, fear filling his voice. "Who knows what that thing is? It could be a trap!"

"I doubt that," She continued and with a single move, freed it from its container.

Lincoln closed his eyes, bracing for anything come. Yet, nothing did thankfully.

"See!" She turned towards him holding it out close to his chest. "I told you it was-" Instantly it began to Glow with a silhouette of the planet several points lit up all marked with the red. "What the heck?"

Realization began to fill Lincoln's eyes. _"It… it can't be!"_ He turned and jumped back to the table, wasting no time rummaging through the notebook, cross-referencing you with are marked red points on the globe Jordan I think that globe is telling us where to go."

"You sure?"

"I'm as sure as I'll ever be. Look here," He pointed it at a part of the map before pointing at the book. "This is Stonehenge in Britain, then the pyramids, a temple in South America…" He looked into Jordan's eyes. "These are markers."

"And what'll we do when we get to them?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

The young man continued flipping. "Here, there's a key marker that we have to unlock, use that and we should unlock whatever this is!"

"Well then… I guess I know what the next step is," With that Jordan squeezed on the globe causing its light to dim before return to its neutral state. After that, she turned and shoved it in her bag. "All right then, I still don't know if this treasure is going to be real or not have you started-"

"There you are!" A voice cried out forcing Lincoln and Jordan to turn and come face-to-face with an armed man and old man in a black suit holding a sharp cane.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And there we go! Chapter five is done! I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, feel free to comment, review and the like! I did my best to proofread it so I hope there aren't mistakes! See you guys tomorrow!


	6. Escaping The Collector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And here we are! The last of today's updates! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Tomorrow, I'll try uploading Chapters 7&8, so I'll be all caught up despite the site error.
> 
> As always, R&R!

Chapter 6: Escaping The Collector

"Well, well, well what do we have here? The old man stepped forward, the soft thuds of his cane filling the air. "Visitors? Or simply lost children?"

"S-stay back! I'm warning you!" Lincoln pushed back, raising his arms to try and protect Jordan.

The old man chuckled, leaning in and taking hold of Lincoln's chin. "Now, now, there's no need to panic, I have no plans to harm you," He held pulled his arms behind his back and stood up straight, before turning around and stepping over to his soldier. "I just want to know what you know.

"W-we don't know anything," His voice cracked.

"Y-yeah!" Jordan added. "W-we're just passing through and just got curious."

"Oh, really now?" His eyes leaped from side to side as he searched the room, brushing his hand against the dusty tables and papers. "But this is no place for children. Perhaps I could give you a ride home."

Shivers rushed up the duo's spines, as Lincoln reached back, grabbing hold of the notebook. "I-I don't know. I think we should just be getting on our way!"

*Smack* The old man slammed his cane on the floor. "Hahaha! What a joke," He glared at them. "But you're not going anywhere. My men saw you before, you know something and I want to know what."

Lincoln and Jordan looked to each other for moment.

"And don't worry," The soldier cracked his knuckles. "We have our ways of makin' you talk."

The young man gulped before hesitating. _"I have to get out of here…"_ He steeled his gaze, before clutching the book and sending it flying, smacking the guard in the face. "Jordan, run!"

"What the heck?!" The guard stumbled back, allowing the duo to rush passed and climb up the stairs.

"Incompetent!" The old man shouted, pointing at the stairs. "Don't let them get away!"

"Grr," The man quickly grabbed the radio and shouted. "Ground team, you have two stragglers incoming! Capture orders are in place, we need them alive!"

* * *

*Vroom!* A truck screeched to life, before turning and stopping at the entrance to the town, allowing a squad of men to pop out and begin searching.

"Dangit!" Lincoln stopped topside. "We've got incoming!"

"No problem!" Jordan took hold of Lincoln's hand, before tugging him along, forcing him to rush into a nearby destroyed building.

"Fan out and find them!" A voice cried out.

Lincoln grit his teeth and glanced out the destroyed door. "What are we gonna do? They're probably gonna set up a perimeter and we're gonna get caught and-"

Jordan quickly turned him to face her, before slapping him. "Keep a hold of yourself, Lincoln!"

He rubbed his cheek.

"You are the man-with-the-plan!" she shoved her finger into his chest. "We will get through this!"

"B-but how?!" He stammered. "We're trapped! There's no getting out!"

She slapped him again. "We'll figure this out!" She pulled back and rubbed her chin. "But what can we-"

*Roar!* A train's horn filled the air.

"That's it!" She hopped to her feet and slammed her fist into her palm. "There's a train coming soon! We could take it out of here!"

Lincoln hesitated. _"We have to go, no matter what,"_ He mentally kicked himself for throwing the notebook, but it wasn't like they had much of a choice. At least they'd be able to continue their journey. And so, he took a breath and nodded. "All right."

With that, Jordan took Lincoln's hand in her own. "All right, let's go," She looked into his eyes. "I'll take point," Before she turned and began to make her wa through the rubble that composed the home. Though not too difficult to traverse, it was easy to get a splinter or ten if not careful. Yet, they were able to make it to the other side without hassle.

Soon though, they found themselves. in the open field that separated the ghost town from the train station. A chill hung in the air as the moved, the soft sounds of the grass crunching filled their ears. _"Just a little bit more and we'll be clear!"_

"Check the field!" A man called out. "I think I see someone!"

In the next moment, Jordan pulled him, forcing him to fall to the ground as a squad of men began to search for them once more.

Lincoln's heart raced. _"Dangit! We're so close!"_ He did his best to glance back, yet struggled. What could they do now? They were stuck in a nighttime field with a squad of men hunting for them. They were so close to finding the treasure! Yet, it already seemed as if their journey was coming to an end.

Jordan pulled his arm. "Shift left, shift left."

Wordlessly, he complied, moving slowly to aside. And just in time too, as one of the agents' boots stomped down right where his head was.

"Now shift right," She whispered, allowing Lincoln to barely miss another foot… though sadly, another foot landed on Lincoln's free hand, crushing it for a moment. It took all of his willpower not to cry out in pain.

"Do you see anything?" Ane of the goons called out, only to hear a, "No sir, nothing. It doesn't look like they passed through here yet!" in reply.

"Hmm, then they must still be in the town!" The squad leader turned and began to jog back inside. "Focus the search there, they could not have gone far!"

The next moments seemed to pass like an eternity, the duo staying frozen in hopes of not getting caught. What if they were bluffing? They could just be waiting for them to get up and run so they could catch them!

Yet, Jordan fearlessly crouched up. "We're clear."

Slowly, Lincoln raised his head… only for Jordan to grab him by the shoulders and pull him up. "Come on, we don't have time to waste! The train's almost here!"

"B-but how do you know we're safe?!" Lincoln darted his head from left to right, half expecting them to be swarmed by goons at that moment. Yet, no one came. They were safe… for now.

"I'll explain later. Come on, we have a train to catch!" With that, Jordan grabbed Lincoln and dragged him along, rushing over to the platform. They quickly glanced over the station and thankfully no goons decided to check it. Just in time too because as they arrived the cargo train stopped, allowing them to climb aboard just as they did just a few days prior. And a few minutes after that, the train pushed off, leaving their first stop behind.

The duo panted in exhaustion their minds still racing from the ordeal.

"How the heck do we get out of that?!" He looked to his partner. "Better question, how the heck did you know how to do that?! You managed to slip by without any other them even realizing we were there!"

Jordan just chuckled. "Lincoln, my dad used to take me hunting all the time. I didn't pay much attention to the actual hunting part, but I did make sure to remember the stealth section. Ya know, what you had to do to not get caught by the animal you wanted to catch."

Lincoln's face went red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry for being so useless about that then," he rubbed his arm. "I'm not used to trying to hide much because, well, in a family as big as mine, how the heck are you supposed to hide anything?!"

"It's fine Lincoln, I'm more surprised that there's an actual mystery to put together now!" Excitement filled her voice. "The treasure might be real after all! Do you know where we're going next?"

In reply, Lincoln reached into his shirt and pulled out the key. "Well according to the notebook before we had to leave it behind… there might be something."

The young woman answered by pulling out the orb. "Lincoln, we have a map, don't try to remember."

"Right, right," He hesitated before bringing his key close to the orb, allowing it to glow once more and outline a map of the world, with a red point marked near a white one, no doubt where were. "There, there's one in… I think in Ohio."

"Err, any ideas what it'll look like?"

"Nope! I have no idea what we're even looking for!" Lincoln shook his head. "Is there even interesting in Ohio?. Isn't it just a big pile of nothing is there anything or Ohio is known for besides being a danger to the United States?

Jordan rubbed her chin. "I have no idea."

"Well I guess it's probably an open field in the middle of nowhere. is a good place to hide whatever this is," He raised his head, and looked into Jordan's eyes. "Hey if we're lucky we might find some treasure there too." He paused. "Jordan do you think we're going to find the treasure?"

"I don't know, Lincoln but hey…" She paused unsure of how to continue.

"No matter what," Lincoln stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "I will love you."

In reply Jordan gave him a hug as well. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, but that doesn't matter. We will survive, we will make it! We have to keep going," Lincoln reassured

With that they broke their embrace, Lincoln tossing his bag aside and resting his head against it. "Anyways I think we should get some rest tonight."

Jordan nodded and pull out a pot. "I think I'll just cook us some dinner first I'm hungry."

Lincoln nodded and began to doze off, with the sound of the train filling his ears.

_ **Meanwhile…** _

"Sir we can't find them… we believe they've escaped." One of the men reported, his voice filled with remorse. "I don't know how they got passed our patrols, but we've swept the whole town, there's no one here but us."

"Damnit!" The old man slammed his hand against his cane, before shaking his head. "No matter, we will simply be force to make do with the information we have here," He continued to rummage through the papers. "Though, at least it seems like we have what we're looking for, gentlemen. So I suppose we won't need those children after all," he looked to one of his officers. "I don't know nor do I really care how they opened this door, but at the moment looks like we have a enough information to move on. The treasure is within our grasp!"

"Sir how do we know which ones are which? Is there like a map or something?" He stepped over securing his weapon over his shoulder. "Perhaps the children left something to help us out. Is there a main map or something to work with?"

"Not sure, but…" He pulled out the notebook. "The boy had this. It looks like a map marking points around the globe with the closest one being in Ohio. I'll have that men go through this facility tomorrow, but it looks like we know where we going next," He then turned. "Make haste, we will find the treasure!" With that the old man began to make his way up the stairs leaving his men to continue working.

Upstairs he climbed into a waiting helicopter and dusted off heading out into the darkness of the cold Autumn night.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, review, fave, follow, the usual. Feel free to PM me and to join the TLH discord server! See you tomorrow! Also, I officially start answering Reviews tomorrow, starting with C6!


	7. The First Seal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Man, life's been busy lately! But that's all right, I won't give up writing! Here's C7! I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> R&R!

Chapter 7: The First Seal

"Are you sure this is it?" Jordan whispered. "We've checked like ten fields now and haven't found anything."

Lincoln replied by raising the sphere and his key. "It has to be," The globe began to glow, marking the nearest red pillar. "We can't give up. We're so close I can feel it!"

"You're good!" A voice called out, prompting the duo to rush over to a set of nearby bushes.

"The heck was that?" Lincoln shoved his head through, glancing at the next field.

"Heh, back in the bushes, just like last time," Jordan couldn't help, but chuckle, while Lincoln's face went red in embarrassment. "Anyways," She pushed forward, allowing the scene to come into view. Just like the town they had left, this field was crawling with guards, and at its center stood several excavators clawing their way into the earth while being illuminated by several floodlights.

"How the heck did these guys get here so quickly?!" Lincoln grimaced, his eyes jumping from patrol to patrol. "And heck, who the heck are these guys anyways?!" He pulled back and crossed his arms in frustration.

"Lincoln, it doesn't matter," Her eyes jumped from patrol to patrol, taking in their movements for a moment, before joining her partner. "But from the looks of it, they're protecting whatever is in that hole. That means that, if the map is leading us to it, it's our job to find out what it is!"

The young man rubbed his chin. "Well then I guess… we'll have to find a way through… but that's your department, Jordan," He looked into his partner's eyes. "Got any ideas?"

"Do I have an idea?" Jordan leaned forward. "Ok, from what I've noticed the guards aren't actually expecting us, if they were then they wouldn't be so lax in their patrols."

Lincoln scratched his head. "Jordan how the heck do you know that?"

"I mean look, we had one squad come by, and now there are no others," She motioned for Lincoln to step over and stick his head through the bush again. "Like, do you see anyone?"

For a moment Lincoln checked. She couldn't be right, could she? After all this was a treasure hunt. Whoever was on their tail was able to amass so much manpower in so little time. Why would they leave a goalpost unguarded? It had to be a , there was only one way forward. Even if they left, no doubt they would have to come back later.

And so Lincoln resigned himself, they had to get the treasure by any means necessary. "Alright Jordan how are we going to get in there?"

The young woman hesitated. she rubbed her chin. "Well, we could try just sneaking in,"She motioned with her hands. "We can wait for an opening, run in, and find what the orb is marking. then we run before anyone figures out what we're doing."

I will

"I don't know, doesn't that sound very risky?"

"Do we have much of a choice?"Jordan's voice was shaky. "If we are going to find this then let's go."

Lincoln let out a breath and nodded. With that, Jordan stepped out, quickly checking her sides before rushing over to a set of boxes. Wasting no time, Lincoln followed... only to fall in space.

Jordan couldn't help but chuckle.

Yet younger man quickly rushed to his feet, and just in time too. Just as he managed to get behind the crates as well, a patrol passed, shining a light exactly where he had lied.

"I swore I saw something," They heard a guard call out.

"Whatever," You probably just drank too much. "Come on, who'd be crazy enough to come around here? Especially with a bunch of armed men walkin' around! They'd probably think there's a conspiracy or something and would nope away!"

" _Unless they've got a reason to stick around,"_ Lincoln gulped, before Jordan tapped him, motioning for him to follow.

They continued, dodging the patrols and hiding in the shadows, before they finally reached their target: the hole they were digging in the ground. It wasn't too massive, though big and deep enough to seem like a small crater, and at its center stood what appeared to be a small pole surrounded by a dirt-covered pedestal.

"I've never seen a treasure poll thing before," Jordan quickly checked her surroundings once more, before jumping and sliding down the slope, "But that looks like something we should check out!"

"Jordan! What if you get spotted!" Lincoln quickly jumped from cover, giving chase to his partner.

"Hey! Who goes there?!" A voice called out, causing Lincoln's heart to race. _"Great at stealth until the very last second?! Dangit!"_ He gulped. "Jordan! What do you see there?!"

In a moment, the young woman rushed over and jumped up taking a good luck at the rod. "Lincoln! It needs your key!"

The young man gulped and looked back, a squad of men already coming towards him. He pushed forward, sliding as quickly down the slope as he could, before reaching into his shirt and pulling out the key-shaped crystal.

"What the heck are they doing?!" He heard the men shout, as Lincoln jumped up and shoved it in the hole.

"Well?" Jordan went, her voice wavering at the sight, "It fits, right?"

Lincoln pulled back, trying to free the key from its new perch. "Y-yeah! But now I can't-" Before he could finish, the pillar began to glow, before unleashing an orb of energy, forcing back the agents to the rim of the crater.

"The heck is going on?!" Jordan stumbled for a moment, as the pillar began to rise, forcing a platform free from its earthy prison, before projecting thousands of stars in the air around them.

"Whoa…" The young man whispered as he let go of the key and climbed off from his perch. "It's… amazing."

Suddenly, pillars forced themselves free from the ground as well, forcing a shape to appear around them, as magma blasted forward.

"Uhh! Lincoln!" Jordan stumbled back into the pillar. "I don't think this was such a good idea!" She glanced to her side. "What're we gonna do?!"

" _Think, think!"_ He darted his eyes from side to side. What was he going to do? He activated whatever this thing was! He should've known that there'd be at least something to stop people from just rushing it…"

He looked up, at the star-filled space around them, the gleaming lights seeming to form shapes for a moment before separating once more. _"What could this mean?!"_

"Oh Lincoln, you mind hurrying up?!" Jordan began to lean against the main pillar as lava began to overtake the platform, no doubt just as it had done to previous attempts at this challenge. "That stuff is pretty dang hot! And I don't know about you, but I don't wanna go for a swim in the forbidden hottub!"

Sweat began to overtake his face, the heat already attacking his body, threatening to overwhelm him. _"I have to try something!"_ He climbed up the pillar and tapped one of the glowing lights. "Alkaid!"

Suddenly, one of the pillars began to glow with green light, while causing a swath of the magma to cool.

The realization dawned upon him. "I get it! This bis a star puzzle! These pillars make up a constellation, that means I have to find the stars that make this one up!"

"Good!" Jordan nodded quickly. "That works! You've got one, now keep going!" She looked around. "There are six other ones from the looks of it!"

"Yep! If this is the big dipper then…" Lincoln gulped, scanning the field for another bright star. "Mizar!"

The next pillar glowed, with the energy field pulling back ever so slightly.

"Alioth, Megrez, Phad and Dubhe!" Lincoln shouted , before scanning the field, though most of the lava had cooled, plenty still surrounded them. And when Lincoln saw where the last point was, he gulped. He crouched on the pillar, before jumping up and outstretching his hand "Merak!"

And as his finger came into contact with that last star, the seven pillars began to glow with blue light, instantly cooling the area, before sending streams of light to the center.

The orb broke free of Jordan's bag and floated over the main line, before a column of light burst from the center, overcharging the orb. A moment after that, the key freed itself from its bearing, and returned to Lincoln, who wasted no time putting it back around his neck.

The orb then lowered before them, allowing Jordan to climb on top of the main pillar and take hold of it once more. For a moment, its map glowed, outlining the same red points albeit one had changed, now marked green. "Whoa…"

"Time to go, Jordan!" Lincoln shouted, only for a hand to grab him. "What the heck?!"

"Lincoln!" Jordan shouted, only for the bags to go over their heads, as the squads of men captured them.

5-24-3-5-12-12-5-14-20! 20-8-5 6-9-18-19-20 16-15-9-14-20 9-19 15-16-5-14!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya tomorrow!
> 
> Review Replies (C6):
> 
> SaNtii98: Thanks for the review!


	8. Captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Hi guys! Welcome to day 8/30! I hope you guys enjoy this!
> 
> As always, R&R!

Chapter 8: Captured

"Enjoy your stay!" A man shouted, before throwing Lincoln and Jordan into a cell, wasting no time locking the door behind him. "The boss is on his way, so why don't you just sit nice and tight?!"

A moment passed, before Lincoln and Jordan pulled the bags off their heads. "What the heck was that?!"

"Well Lincoln, it's pretty dang difficult to get away from goons when you're surrounded by them."

He shook his head. "I know, I just wish we could've gotten away! Dangit," He glanced at Jordan. "They took the orb and our bags, how are we supposed to continue the hunt now?"

Jordan pinched the bridge of her nose. "Lincoln, we have bigger problems! We've been captured by some weird ass people who literally dug a hole in the ground for no reason other than to find a treasure, and they're run by some weird old man!"

Lincoln replied by curling up into a ball on the floor. "Sorry Jordan…" He looked away, his voice wavering against his companion

Slowly, the young woman paused, before joining him. "How many days has it been anyways?"

The young man couldn't help, but chuckle at the question. "How many days? I think we've been out here for like… three or something!"

"Heh, not gonna lie, it feels like eight," Jordan looked away and shook her head.

"We shouldn't have left home…" She placed a hand on her abdomen. "We could've stayed, couldn't we? Our families would've been happy, right?"

A shiver ran down Lincoln's spine. _"If I find out you got a girl pregnant, you're out of here!"_ Before he whispered. "You have to show her how much you love her."

In reply, Jordan added. "Remember Jordan, the key a successful relationship is to keep his stomach full and his balls empty."

"Heh, is that why you always made sure to bring food when you came over?" He nudged her, "Burpin' Burger might be my favorite, but you must've spent like twenty bucks every date we went on, just on the way!"

Jordan rubbed her arm in embarrassment. "Well… my family was very excited that I wanted to go out with you and so they were ok with footing the bill."

"Really?" He smiled at her, before breaking out laughed. "Haha! My sisters did the same thing! They'd always try and throw as much cash on me before I left the house and make sure I knew where I was taking you! They wanted our dates to be as romantic as possible."

"Is that why we always ate at the movies and had to hide in the park before you took me home?" Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh that?" He chuckled. "No. It's because my sisters loved eavesdropping on our dates and so staying in the park forced them into some awkward places to try and watch us," He tilted his head. "You never noticed them?"

"Not really," Her face went red. "I was… sort of too busy on you, ya know?"

"Heh… that's nice to hear," Lincoln leaned back and raised his eyes towards the ceiling.

For a moment after that, Lincoln hesitated, his mind affixed on their current situation. In just the span of three days, they had already gone from nothing effectively nothing to having done something with a magic orb. Whatever was going on, the treasure was real, and they both knew it…

"Jordan… I want to know, do you think it's worth it?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"This journey," He turned and gripped her hand. "I know that you're pregnant and that, well, we have our kid on the way. While I thought that it'd be a good idea… I don't know now. We'vee already had to deal with these crazy men and also got burned alive by magic lava or something! If we're doing this for our kid… then what'll happen if we don't make it?"

Jordan hesitated in reply. It'd be a lie if she told him she told him that she hadn't considered the dangers. She may have had the skill to escape the men, while he had to ability to solve the puzzles, but… their current situation was enough to show the flaws in their plan. What were they supposed to do?"

They sat in silence after that, the answer alluding the duo.

"Lincoln," Jordan turned and looked into her partner's eyes. "What do you think is waiting for us back home?

Lincoln shook his head. "Truthfully? Hell," His voice became frank and sincere. "You're pregnant, I got you pregnant and we both ran away from home. If we come home empty handed who knows how everyone will react?"

The young woman shivered at the idea. Yeah, the family was understanding and wouldn't do too much about the situation, but… she was supposed to be the next heiress to her family name. If she got pregnant before even becoming an adult…

Her partner could see the fear in her eyes. "Hey, don't worry about it," he turned and got on his knees in front of her. "I promise you, no matter what happens, we _will_ get through this, got it?" He looked into her eyes. "And when we get home we won't have anything to worry about," Before he leaned in.

In reply, Jordan did the same, allowing their lips to meet in the space between them, before he pulled back. "I'll always love you, I promised after all."

She quickly threw her arms around him. "Same here."

With that, Lincoln climbed to his feet, with Jordan following soon after. "So, the next question is, how the heck are we gonna get out of here?" He rubbed his chin.

*Clank!* "I think I can help with that!" A small voice called out.

Instantly, the duo turned to the source- a young girl with blonde hair.

"Lily?!" Lincoln's eyes went wide. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

Lily dropped from her vent perch. "Getting you guys out of here! Everyone's waiting for you guys!"

"Err, ok?" Lincoln shrugged. "But how the heck are we supposed to get out of here? Door's locked and guarded?"

Lily waved him off. "Lisa has that handled," before she pulled out what appeared to be a small card, before stepping over to the door and waving it. A moment later, the electronics failed, allowing them to walk free. "Now come on!"

Lincoln and Jordan nodded at each other, before running out.

"We have to make a stop at the storage place! We need to get the orb back no matter what!" Lincoln turned and bolted down another corridor.

Lily's eyes went wide. "Wait! But Lisa mapped this place! The exit is that way!"

Jordan nodded and turned. "Lily, come on! We have to follow him!" before she too gave chase.

Lily flared out her arms in frustration. "Dangit guys! Do you know how hard it was to sneak in here and track you down?! It's been a week since you left and we only just now caught up to you!"

Yet, neither young adult really cared. They had one goal in mind, and they were going to see it through.

"Lily!" Lincoln called out. "How'd Lisa knock out the guards?!" He ducked and turned down a corridor marked for storage, before stopping… only to find two guards busy fighting with what appeared to be a swarm of bees. "Err… the heck?"

"Lisa's nanobots," She answered. "They're prototypes, but have our DNA so they won't attack us," She stopped. "Now what the heck are you guys looking for?!"

Jordan pointed ahead, at a small bag surrounded by lasers. "That."

"Err… I know you two like your stuff a lot, but… Lori said that it'd be a good idea to just leave everything and run, ya know, so we don't get caught or something?" Lily spoke in an annoyed voice, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did so.

Lincoln sighed. "Lily, this is very important. Trust me, we'll explain later," he looked to his companion. "Jordan, can you make it."

She felt her abdomen, before gulping. "Yeah. I didn't make captain of the gymnastics team for nothing!"

"Lynn was so annoyed when you took her title as best," He shook his head, before glancing around the laser-filled room. "Though, there has to be a way to disable this…"

Jordan shook her head. "Let me take over," before she took a breath, sprinted, before flipping through the air. She seemed to dance for a moment, dodging the red lasers, before landing in front of the bags. She wasted no time checking it, before securing it on her back and repeating the process on the way back.

"Wow," Lincoln's eyes went wide.

In reply, Jordan held the orb to his chest, allowing it to glow. "Perfect."

With that, the trio turned and bolted down the corridor once more, before turning and making their way.

"We're almost there!" She ducked behind a door. "Just through there is the hanger! Everyone's waiting for us there!"

With that, they forced their way into the final room. For a moment, expecting a massive hanger with jets of all kinds… only to be disappointed by something small enough for a helicopter or two at the most.

"Where are they?!" Lily's eyes went wide.

"Do you think we took a wrong turn?" Jordan's eyes darted around the room, her heart racing. "I know Lisa's a genius and all, but even her prototypes don't work for that long!"

Lincoln gulped and pulled out his phone. _"Please be a signal… damnit."_ he shoved it back in his pocket.

"Ahh, there you are," A voice called out, before the room's entrance slammed shut.

Lincoln and Jordan backed into each other, readying themselves for whatever was coming next.

"Now, now, you have no need to worry. I do not wish to harm you," Before the old man stepped forward, resting on his cane once more. "But please, do not make this harder for me. I do not wish to put an end to your journey so soon."

And in reply, they shook their heads.

"Who are you?!" Lily begged in a soft voice.

The old man answered. "I am the collector."

20-9-13-5 20-15 13-5-5-20 20-8-5-9-18 5-14-5-13-25: 20-8-5 3-15-12-12-5-3-20-15-18 15-6 1-18-20-9-6-1-3-20-19.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Ahh, and there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed this! As always, feel free to review, fave and follow, as well as PM me!


	9. Meeting The Collector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Hi guys! I'm back with the next day! I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> As Always, R&R!

Chapter 9: Meeting The Collector

"I will admit, you've really proven yourselves," The old man began to pace the room, the soft sound of his feet and cane filling the air. "But alas, I doubt you'll be able to get out of this at the moment," He stopped and shook his head.

"Nuh-uh! My sisters are coming to get us!" Lily took a fighting stance. "They always come to our rescue!" Lincoln promptly pulled on her, forcing her to stand behind him.

The old man began to laugh. "You honestly believe you'll be able to escape me before I get what I want?!" He turned to his guard. "Alex, you know what to do."

The man nodded and raised his rifle. "You really shouldn't have thrown that boiling pot of water in my face," He paused for a second. "Heck, who carries one of those around anyways? It's ridiculous!"

"Enough," The man turned back to the trio. "Check your ammo."

In reply, Alex unclipped the magazine, before reloading. "Full sir."

Lincoln stepped back, pushing his arm in front of Lily and Jordan. "What do you want with us? We don't even know who you are!"

"You two have been quite the hard ones to capture. My men saw you at the site of an important artifact for myself and we wished to simply question you about what you had done or witnessed," He shook his head. "Yet, you had to run away, you had to attack one of my most trusted men," he stepped forward and leaned in, pushing Lincoln back. "And then I found you at the ruins of an abandoned town in a secret room. Now I believe you know something we don't."

The young man grit his teeth.

"Oh, of course," He pulled back. "I know you won't spill the beans immediately," Before beginning to rummage through his pockets, pulling out what appeared to be earplugs, before shoving them in his ears. "That's why I'm going to motivate you."

Alex then aimed at the ground and fired.

The bullet ricocheted off the floor, bouncing before hitting the nearby wall, while sending out a massive shriek through air.

"G'ahh!" The trio cried out, shoving their hands against their ears to protect them.

"Now, I want to know everything!" His voice filled with poison, before he slammed his hands on his cane. "Tell me it all! And maybe, I'll consider forgiving you for attacking my men! And attempting to overtake this facility!"

Lincoln turned to Jordan, fear filling their eyes.

With that, he turned back and let out a breath. "We don't know much, but this stuff is supposed to lead to a treasure of sorts. It's an old legend or something, and us opening that treasure chest was an accident. Someone had dug a hole and we decided to investigate…"

He stared at them in reply. "You seriously expect me to buy that obvious lie? That notebook you left contained too much information to be of coincidence. The fact that you were even able to follow us to the first point further proves that you're lying. Now if you wish not to end like the previous occupants of your position, tell me the truth!"

The young man glanced down at Lily, the young girl's gaze still headstrong. Despite the odds, she didn't seem willing to give in, while Jordan stood behind him, pushing forward slightly.

"I swear! I don't know anything else!"

The old man stepped over once more and stared down upon Lincoln. "Then how did you activate the seal! Tell me! Give me what I want and I might let you live!"

Slowly, Lincoln let out a breath and reached into his shirt, pulling out the key. "This allowed me to activate it."

He snatched it, before holding it up to the light. "I see, and this was what broke the seal. My scientists attempted to open it themselves but to no avail," He put on a sinister smile. "Thank you," before he stepped back. "And goodbye,"

Alex raised his rifle. "With pleasure!"

*Boom!* The sound thundered across the room as the ceiling caved.

"Bout time!" Lily shouted, before she jumped at the old man.

A moment later, a rope fell from the sky, before a familiar young woman came down swinging. "Haha! Good job Lisa! No other guards!"

"Stop!" Alex raised his rifle, only for Lincoln to rush and tackle him to the ground. Jordan followed up by kicking him in the crotch, just for good measure.

"Great timing!" Lincoln rushed to his feet.

"No problem!" Lynn offered her hand. "Come on! It's time to get the heck out of here!" She then stared at Lincoln. "You are in so much trouble when we get home!"

"Not the time, Lynn!" He jumped up, grabbing hold of the rope. "Lily! Come on!"

A moment after that, his baby sister rushed over and jumped into his free hand, while Jordan grabbed on. After that, Lynn gave a thumbs up, prompting the operator to pull them up, before they flew off.

* * *

Lincoln and Jordan wasted no time falling back into seats after that.

"Thanks for the save," Jordan whispered, allowing her head to fall back in exhaustion. "I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come when you did."

"Well, most likely, you would've been tortured and executed by treasure hunters," Lisa stepped over and began to examine the duo. "Though from the looks of it, your captivity was short enough to not warrant much in the way of full examination."

Lincoln let out a breath. "Well, I guess that's good to hear…" he paused for a moment. "You used your tracking devices to find us, didn't you?"

"Of course!" Lisa put her arms behind her back. "My prodigal brother and his partner were in danger! It would be remiss of me to go without providing aid in their rescue!"

"Yeah! We all pitched in!" Lana jumped on his lap, while Lola jumped on Jordan's

"Do you know how hard it was to get a helicopter?!" Lola waved her finger in Jordan's face. "Just because Chuck knows a guy who knows a guy doesn't mean it's easy!"

The young man paused. "Well ok… but who's flying?"

"Who else?" Lori spoke up. "Mom's flying lessons are finally paying off," before she leaned the copter, pushing it on their way. "Glad to see you two again."

"Yeah! Now we can finally talk about how to get ready for the baby!" Leni tucked in in excitement. "I was thinking either blue or pink shirts! Do you think they'll like socks?!"

The helicopter went silent after that, with all eyes focused on the young woman.

"Err, Leni, what are you talkin' about, Mate?" Luna turned around and tilted her head in confusion. Nearby, Jordan and Lincoln's faces went red as they looked away.

Leni looked on in confusion. "What? I thought everyone knew already!" She scratched her head. "Like, I saw a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom after Jordan left one night! And I remember overhearing Lincoln and Jordan talk about having a plan to take care of babies!" She then motioned with her hands. "And then they ran away together like in the movies! She collapsed her hands together as if daydreaming. "They're like, totes a couple or something!"

Slowly, the siblings' turned to face the duo.

"So, care to explain?" Lucy appeared at their side. "And don't try hiding it, or else Leni's just going to start spilling more of your dirty laundry."

"Well, Lucy, I wouldn't put it like that," Luan cut in. "After all, it's more like 'soiled laundry' than dirty!" before she threw her head back in laughter.

"Heh, soiled," Lana chuckled along, while Lola recoiled in horror.

"Anyways," Lynn turned to the duo and shook her head. "Care to explain yourselves you two? And why the heck were you out here dealing with some armed goon?! You almost got yourselves killed!"

Lincoln and Jordan turned to each other once more, before sighing in unison. There was literally no way of getting out of this, was there?

And so, Jordan reached into her bag and pulled out the orb. "We sort of decided to try looking for buried treasure."

Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "Remember those stories that Pop Pop used to tell us when we were going to sleep?" He looked around at his sisters. "We decided to try and find out if it was real or not… and I guess we got into a little bit of trouble along the way…"

"A little?!" Lori's voice cut through the air. "We were all worried sick! You almost got shot! We heard the gunfire! And you did it just for some stupid treasure hunt?! You're not kids anymore! You're supposed to be adults! Jordan's pregnant, so guess what, you've got at least six months to get a job and prepare to put food on the table!"

"But, this one is real!" Lincoln spoke up, though hesitated after. "But it's not worth much now…"

"Why do you say that?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.

Jordan tossed the orb slightly. "Remember the key your grandpa gave Lincoln? It reacted with this orb thing and showed a map and points that we're supposed to visit or something…" She shook her head. "But, then that collector guy took it while we were waiting for you."

"No he didn't!" Lily beamed in excitement, before pulling the key out. "I managed to take it from him! He wasn't that tough!"

Lincoln blinked. "How weak do you have to be to lose to a six-year-old in a fight?"

"Doesn't matter," Jordan took the key and held it to the orb, allowing its map to appear once more, its glow illuminating the helicopter.

"Whoa," Lisa took it in her hands. "I have to analyze this!" before she pulled out a computer and began to work. "This is a beautiful piece of technology!"

"Err, how long do you think it'll take you to look that over?" Lincoln tilted his head in curiosity.

"Oh, I don't know, a few hours or something?" She motioned with her hands. "Why don't you tell us how you decided to go on this odd trip anyways? It'll take me time to figure this out."

Lincoln and Jordan looked at each other for a moment, before shrugging. "I guess it couldn't hurt much… now that you know."

Jordan then took a breath and started. "Well… i guess this began when we met a few years ago…"

15-14 20-8-5-9-18 23-1-25 20-15 20-8-5 14-5-24-20 16-15-9-14-20: 12-5-20-'19 12-5-1-18-14 8-15-23 10-15-18-4-1-14 7-15-20 11-14-15-3-11-5-4 21-16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N That's another chapter under my belt! Man, these are going to be a bit harder to write because of personal family stuff, but I won't give up! See you tomorrow!


	10. How We Ended Up Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N Ahh, here we are! The 10 day mark! I hope you guys enjoy this! I know that things are weird given what's going on IRL, but please, all support helps! I hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> R&R!

Chapter 10: How We Ended Up Here

We met a few years ago, back when we were still kids…

"Haha! You're funny!" A young girl Jordan whispered, while giggling.

Lincoln pulled out the pens from his nose and smiled. "Thanks! I'm Lincoln! What's your name?"

"I'm Jordan," She rubbed her arm.

"Jordan huh?" The young boy rubbed his chin. "But there's a boy Jordan already…" He paused, before raising his finger. "I know! I'll call you girl Jordan!"

She shook her head. "Please don't."

But he did, and that name stuck.

* * *

I would always be competitive around him, I could never say why though.

"Girl Jordan! Stop!" Lincoln shouted as he ducked and weaved, dodging every single dodgeball she threw at him. "This is supposed to just be a game!"

"Haha! I don't care!" She kept attacking, sending her ordinance at him.

In reply, he smiled, before grabbing a ball and raising it as a shield. "Not gonna beat me that easily!"

Jordan smiled, before spinning and sending another two flying. In reply, Lincoln jumped and sent his own.

And in a moment, they blasted each other, sending them flying in defeat.

"Haha!" They laughed in unison afterwards.

* * *

"Hey, I'm sorry about Ronnie Anne," Jordan held him.

"Thanks… Girl Jordan," He went. "I just…" He looked away. "I don't know why…"

"Why what?" She leaned in, wrapping her arm around him.

"What's wrong with me? Why'd she leave me for Sid?" He turned to her, tears making their way down his cheeks.

For a moment, she paused, thinking through her answer, before placing a soft hand to wipe his cheek. "Lincoln, there's nothing wrong with you. Sometimes people just move on."

"But… she said she loved me…" He whispered. "She wanted to spend her life with me…"

"Hey, things change," She looked into his eyes with a soft, caring gaze. "But… things can change for the better."

His eyes softened. "Do… do you like me, Jordan?"

She leaned in and placed a soft kiss upon his cheek. "I always have."

And with that, Lincoln turned and wrapped his arms around her.

* * *

"Lincoln, I'm pregnant," those words hung in the air, as Lincoln stood by, unsure of how to react.

Soft tears began to stream down Jordan's cheeks. "I… I'm pregnant," She repeated, before turning and dropping on the couch.

Slowly, Lincoln began to move, taking short steps to place himself next to Jordan. "A-are you sure?"

She looked up at him, her eyes now red and puffy, before she gave a small nod and proceeded to bury her face in her arms. "What are we going to do? We're sixteen! That's not old enough to start a family!"

"I… I don't know…" Lincoln rubbed his arm, his gaze breaking from his girlfriend.

"H-how can you not know?!" She snapped at him. "You're the man with the plan, right?! You- you have plans for everything! You had to know this was gonna happen, right? You had to know!" She then turned and clawed at him with her hands, while more and more panic filled her voice.

Lincoln tried to answer, searching for a solution to their problem, and yet… he found nothing. What was he supposed to do? He was going to be a father! He tried to speak, yet the words simply wouldn't come out. He was stunned and there wasn't much he could do to change that.

Jordan turned and clutched one of the pillows, before curling up into a ball beside him. "I'm pregnant. But I'm not ready to be a mom. Why'd we do that? We didn't have condoms! You're a Loud for crying out loud and I knew that! But… I was still ok with sleeping with you!"

For a moment, he paused. He had to do something, but what? Everything she was saying was true. Neither of them were ready to be parents, but… they were going to be in just a few short months.

"We don't have jobs… mom and dad are probably gonna make me get rid of it…" Pain filled her voice, while a shiver ran up their spines.

Get rid of it…

"No," Lincoln pushed himself to his feet and shook his head. "No matter what, we can't let that happen."

Jordan looked up. *Sniffle* "We can't?"

Lincoln couldn't tell what was coming over him, whether it be the fatherly desire to protect his child or his own feelings towards the matter, he just couldn't let it sit. He had to do something, anything! "Jordan, our parents… what have they said about us having a kid?"

"That we'd have to leave and learn how to live on our own if I got pregnant, and that we'd have to get married," Her voice softened, while she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well then," Lincoln gulped. "Jordan… I know this is a longshot, but… I might have an idea."

She pushed herself up, hope filling her eyes. "What?"

Slowly, Lincoln reached into his shirt and pulled out the small key. "Jordan, when I was a kid, my grandpa would always tell me about a buried treasure my ancestor stowed away somewhere far, far away. And that this would be what we'd need to unlock it."

Jordan stared at him, before bursting out laughing, wiping a tear from her eye. "Y-you're kidding me right? We don't even know if it's real. Are you really suggesting we go on a wild goose chase to try and find some mythical treasure or something?"

The young man looked away and let out a breath. "Jordan… I don't know," he turned back and looked into her eyes. "But… how will our parents react? They've always wanted to see us together, I know. But… can we really trust them not to go ballistic? And what about my sisters? They'll chastise us for getting you pregnant before Lori. I remember… mom and dad said we'd be out on the streets, with our children forced to eat rocks if this happened…"

Jordan replied by rubbing her arm. "My parents said we'd be eating grass like cows… That only a whore would let it happen to themself…"

Lincoln turned and stepped over to the nearby bookshelf. "So… what do you wanna do, Jordan? I know it's a longshot but, I really do think that we have a chance of actually finding this treasure! We can do it if we work hard enough."

She hesitated. What was she supposed to do next? She was pregnant, and neither of them wanted to give up their child. Could they tell their parents? Maybe… but from what it sounded like, neither of them were truly sure of how they would react to the news. Then again… maybe it would be for the best.

Slowly, she turned and leaned in, with Lincoln replying by doing the same. And for a moment, their lips brushed against each other, before pulling back. "Lincoln, you said you'd always love me, did you mean that?"

He nodded. "Of course, I always do."

"All right then," She let out a breath and steeled her nerves. "Then I'm in. We can do this, right?"

Lincoln nodded. "Yeah, we just have to find the creator of this key… and his name I remember Grandpa mentioned was in this book…"

With that, Jordan turned. "I'll go pack our things… I just hope that we do find this treasure in the end…

_**Back In The Present…** _

"And that's how we ended up leaving and going on this trip," Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry we worried you."

"You're dang right you worried us! For the past week we were trying find you two, but until yesterday, something was messing with her tracker!" Lola flared her arms. "Heck, why the heck did you two leave anyways?! We would've been happy to hear that you're pregnant!"

Jordan looked away in shame. "It's because… we weren't supposed to be, we love each other… but we just…" her voice trailed off, while Lincoln wrapped an arm around her.

"Hey, don't worry," He let out a breath. "We'll talk about it later, ok guys? Right now, we have to continue the treasure hunt."

"Uhh, why?" Lana tilted her head. "Didn't you see where it's gotten you? I mean, guys with guns aren't fun to play with."

For a moment, Lincoln thought his argument through, before shaking his head and pulling out the key. "Even if we were to go home, that man is still after us. If what we learned from visiting the first point is right-"

"Hmm, point doesn't seem right," Jordan cut in. "How about 'seal' after all, when you unlocked it, it released a lot of power or something."

"Ok, first seal, this treasure is real. There's something to this all," He waved the key. "And it has to do with this. We need this to open the seals."

"And what'll happen when you open all of them?" Lily leaned up and tilted her head.

"I… don't know…" Lincoln let his head down in defeat.

"Well… I suppose there's only one way to find out then," Lisa stepped over with the orb, allowing the map to come into view. "From what it seems, there are three points remaining, one in South America, Europe and Africa. Once we find the remainder, you can open them and see what treasure lies on the other side."

"You're seriously not considering going after this random treasure, are you?" Luna tilted her head in surprise.

Yet, it was Lori who answered. "Truthfully, I'd say no, but they just got attacked by some goons… if we're gonna be safe again, we need to find out what this is hiding and put a stop to it before those crazy guys do… whatever."

Luna groaned. "Fine, I'll have Chuck pull more strings!" She bowed her head before pulling out her phone.

"One more thing," Lynn stepped over and punched Jordan's arm. "Welcome to the family!"

Leni squealed. "Yay! I'm gonna make so many clothes for them! They're gonna be the most adorable little baby ever!"

Lincoln and Jordan turned to each other and nodded, before the Loud family turned off and made their way into the evening light.

_ **Meanwhile…** _

"Sir… they got away," Alex slowly pushed himself up. "How the heck did they manage that?"

"I don't know, nor do I really care," The old man stepped forward and leaned down, picking up a small piece of crystal off the floor. "I want the lab boys to make me a new key. If it's necessary to open the seals then I will do whatever I must to get the necessary supplies."

"Yes, sir!" The man took the shard and ran off, leaving the old man alone in the empty hangar.

"The race has begun, I must consult the notebook for more information," before he too turned and made his way out.

20-9-13-5-19 1-18-5 1-12-23-1-25-19 3-8-1-14-7-9-14-7, 2-21-20 8-5-25, 1 19-8-9-16 9-19 1 19-8-9-16!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N And there we go! 1/3rd of this challenge is complete! I know it's hard, but I'm gonna keep going and I won't give up! Also, keep your eyes peeled! I worked on a fic in the TLH discord today and I'm planning on editing and posting it tomorrow!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N And that's how I start a new adventure! I hope you guys enjoyed! As always feel free to fave, follow, review, etc. and join the TLH writer's discord if you'd like to talk! Heads up, because this chapter go posted a day late and I traditionally post one chapter a day for NaNoWriMo, I'll be finishing this December 1st instead of November 30th. And now to C&P the same message I've posted for the past 3 years!
> 
> Time for some info on National Novel Writer's Month: The idea of this challenge is that many of us have a story we want to tell, but the very nature of doing so is a difficult and somewhat daunting task. And so, every year The Office of Letters And Light challenges new authors and random people alike to, during the month of November, write a 50k word novel (Equaling ~1667 words per day).
> 
> I said this last year and I will repeat myself: For all of you who read fics, but are unsure of whether or not you can write a good story, I highly encourage you to at least try. No good writer started without making their mistakes and blunders.
> 
> Also, for those who are reading this just for the sake of having fun, I encourage you to point out any and all flaws you find within this work, after all- no one gets better alone. Just like last time, this story will be impulse-written (as is encouraged by one of the tips: "When in doubt, ninjas!") and it would help me immensely if you point out things that I don't notice so that I may improve upon them in the future! Thanks!


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